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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · trunk · rest · mug · tear · stand · current · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mug — a face
  3. rest — what's left
  4. tear — from crying
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. current — happening now
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stand — to bear
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mug — to rob
  17. current — of water
  18. mug — a cup
  19. rest — a break
  20. current — electric
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. mine — for digging
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com